Niroshan Dickwella reveals the banter exchange at the Eden Gardens

The final session at the Eden Gardens didn’t run short of producing any entertainment. The banter exchange between Niroshan Dickwella and Mohammed Shami added an extra element to the game. The crowd, as well as the viewers, enjoyed their altercation in the middle.

Dickwella admitted that he was resorting to time-wasting techniques. His intention was to mess up with the Indian players and annoy them. Eventually, India fell short of a victory as bad light stopped play early. They needed just three wickets to win as the match ended in a draw.

The banter exchange that took place

Revealing what happened in the middle, Dickwella indicated that it all started in the 15th over. After he hit a six and pointed out that 3 fielders were placed behind square leg, the umpire called it a no ball. However, it didn’t please skipper Virat Kohli who walked in and told Dickwella to mind his own business.

“How it all started was, I hit a six over square leg. There were three fielders behind square on the leg side and I brought that to the notice of the umpire Nigel Llong. A no ball was called and then Virat Kohli came towards me and told me that that’s the umpires’ job and you don’t worry. That’s how it all started,” Dickwella was quoted as saying to Cricbuzz.

He further determined that while Kohli realized what he was trying to do, Shami didn’t.

“I thought, hang on, this is a good opportunity to get into an argument and kill some time. Kohli quickly realised what my intentions were and started walking back. Then the Mohammed Shami thing happened. It was funny I thought, I would like to think that I won that battle,” the wicketkeeper-batsman added.

He further explained the Mohammed Shami incident.

“Shami came up to me and said, ‘Look here, I am the local boy. I am from Kolkata.’ Then I said, ‘I don’t give a damn.’ A few seconds later, I said, ‘But you are bowling with good pace and bounce.’ Perhaps he was happy with the compliment and started walking back.”

The 24-year-old further admitted that his time wasting tactics managed to annoy the Indians. While he did reveal that skipper Dinesh Chandimal guided him to be calm.

“I was taking my time while I was batting and Shami was rushing to bowl and that didn’t go down too well with the Indians. I was so happy to be in that situation. The captain was on the other side and was guiding me asking me to be calm and play the normal game and they will get frustrated,” he said.

While Dickwella continued to get under the skins of the Indians, Shami answered him in splendid fashion as he bowled out Chandimal in his next over. He was surviving dangerously and eventually trapped in front of the stumps by Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

The Indian players managed to have the last laugh. While the match ended in a draw, it created a wonderful spectacle for the crowd. The second Test match between both the teams is slated to take place in Nagpur commencing on 24th November.